Scotland’s opera audiences have never had it so good. At least, not since Scottish Opera nearly collapsed five years ago. The company may still be woefully underfunded, and being ignored by the Edinburgh festival doesn’t help, but when you have two David McVicar productions in quick succession, who’s complaining? Hard on the heels of his voluptuous version of La traviata comes Così fan tutte – another smash hit for the world-renowned director, who has a knack of keeping his best work for native turf. Originally staged for Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg, this Così looks as good as new in Glasgow. A fresh cast and conductor bring their own perspectives, but it’s the staging – ravishing to look at and consistently funny, while leaving a bitter after-taste – that packs the punch.

McVicar advances the action to the late 19th century – modern enough to stop Mozart’s “school for lovers” looking impossibly old fashioned, sufficiently attuned to the past to stop it lapsing into small-screen soap opera. The scene is an aquamarine seascape dominated by two immutable rocks: like the sisters’ pledges of sexual fidelity, they have disintegrated by the finale. Yannis Thavoris’s set, warmly lit by Paule Constable and Franck Brigel, mutates seamlessly from gentleman’s club to a sequence of ravishing indoor/outdoor settings, where the music is sung as if spoken.

The taste is all the more pungent when spiced with a cast that personifies innocence and experience. Peter Savidge’s Don Alfonso and Marie McLaughlin’s Despina have seen it all – he a cynical old roué, she a flighty foil who knows a thing or two about seducing an audience. The four lovers could do with more seasoning. Violet Noorduyn lacks the voice for Fiordiligi’s two set-pieces; Caitlin Hulcup’s Dorabella is as yet little more than a pretty costume. Joel Prieto’s Ferrando recalls the honey-timbred Francisco Araiza in his prime, while Ville Rusanen’s Guglielmo comes good with “Donne miei”.

Keeping the chorus offstage is inexcusable, but the damage is masked by Tobias Ringborg’s brilliant conducting – full of arresting voices, tempo choices and dynamic inflexions that make you feel the ink could still be drying on Mozart’s score. ★★★★☆

On tour until June 27 www.scottishopera.org.uk